Two of DeWine’s biggest calls: Leaving intact the legislature’s plan to create a flat 2.75% income tax rate (thereby eliminating Ohio’s highest tax bracket) and approving the legislature’s idea to use $600 million of the state’s $3.7 billion in unclaimed funds to partially fund the Cleveland Browns’ new stadium.
Those big-ticket items weren’t exactly what DeWine envisioned when he introduced his preferred budget back in January.
On tax relief, he proposed a $1,000 tax credit for families with children under seven. He’s repeatedly told reporters that Ohio’s income tax is competitive and that further reducing it would do little to entice people and businesses to move to Ohio, though he said Tuesday that a lowering the state’s income taxes would particularly help married couples.
“Life is about choices and, you know, I stated what I thought was the best tax cut and the legislature did not follow it,” DeWine said. “I’m not allowed to write things into the budget, I can veto but I can’t write things in.”
When DeWine was asked why he didn’t veto the legislature’s flat tax idea, he said: “The answer is: I can count. I can count votes in the General Assembly.”
On the state’s role in the Browns project, DeWine originally proposed hiking Ohio’s tax on sports betting and using the proceeds to fund stadium improvements.
“As you know, that was not my first choice; I had another way of doing it,” DeWine told reporters. “But, you know, governors can’t get everything they want, nobody gets everything they want.”
Ultimately, DeWine said the legislature’s stadium plan satisfied what he truly wanted, which was to diverge away from the state’s status quo of considering whether to invest Ohio’s general revenue funds into professional teams’ proposed projects.
But many other items were removed using the governor’s veto power, meaning the Ohio General Assembly would need a three-fifths vote to override the vetoes and put the items back in the budget.
Property taxes
DeWine vetoed several of the legislature’s measures related to property taxes on the grounds that they’d have a substantial impact on school funding.
These include a plan to limit K-12 school districts’ cash carryover balances at 40% of the district’s prior year operating expenses.
“While the intention to save taxpayer dollars is understandable, this item would significantly limit the amount of funding that school districts can carry over year-to-year, resulting in more districts asking taxpayers to pass levies more often, which could very well exacerbate property tax increases instead of reducing them,” DeWine wrote in his veto message.
Also vetoed was the legislature’s plan to empower county budget commissions to unilaterally lower certain property taxes. DeWine wrote that such authority would go against the will of the voters.
DeWine also vetoed the legislature’s plan to eliminate fixed-sum emergency levies, substitute emergency levies, and combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levies in Ohio.
“I would just say that I felt these ideas were thoughtful, but I was also concerned that imposing them now, all of them at once, on our local schools would create a huge, huge problem,” DeWine said. “None of them would guarantee what we would end up with.”
School boards
DeWine vetoed a provision that would have made school boards and educational service centers partisan offices.
“Local school boards and ESC governing boards have historically been non-partisan offices, and this has served the interests of students and communities well,” he wrote. “This provision could also have a chilling effect on potential candidates who do not want to run for partisan office but are otherwise well-suited and well-qualified to serve on their local school board.”
The partisan school board idea is one pushed by local Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., in a separate House bill.
“I believe making these positions partisan would enhance transparency and help voters, especially parents, make more informed choices that directly affect their children and community,” Hall told this outlet. “When we voted to have partisan affiliation included for the Ohio Supreme Court races, we have seen an increase in Ohioans voting in those races.”
Food stamps
DeWine also launched a working group within the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to study seeking a waiver to prohibit food stamps from being used to purchase sugar sweetened beverages.
He vetoed a budget measure that would have banned such purchases using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds, saying the proposed language could have unintended consequences.
Other vetoes
Other items vetoed include:
• A proposal that would have “sunsetted” the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit and Film and Theater Production Tax Credit after 2027.
• Restrictions on public libraries making available in the public general circulation area materials on gender and sexuality. DeWine told reporters he thought the restriction was “not workable,” as it required librarians to use their discretion to assess the material.
• A prohibition on state funds going to youth homeless shelters that promote or affirm social gender transition. “If a shelter has to call a homeless youth a pronoun that is incongruent with that youth’s gender to get that person into a shelter so the child won’t freeze to death, it needs to be done without fear of getting funding clawed back,” DeWine wrote.
• A requirement that prosecuting attorneys decide on whether to prosecute elections or campaign law violations within a year of receiving a referral.
• The elimination of sales tax exemptions for several items, including newspapers, material used to produce printed materials, and motion pictures acquired by theaters. “Newspapers serve a critical role in our society to inform the public about important issues, allow for civic engagement and discourse, and help bolster local communities,” DeWine wrote.
Dems decry ‘Billionaires First’ budget
Democrats immediately blasted the budget as “Billionaires First” for benefitting the Browns owners and giving tax cuts to wealthy Ohioans, while limiting investment in public education and setting the stage for massive Medicaid enrollment reductions.
“Republicans just made Vivek Ramaswamy even richer. Instead of supporting Ohio families, the Republican legislature passed a budget that only helps their billionaire friends and special interests,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde. “Ohioans deserve better, and Republicans will have to answer for this disastrous budget in the next election cycle.”
DeWine said in a release that the budget overall supports his administration’s priorities.
“This budget builds upon my commitment to make Ohio the best place for everyone to live their version of the American Dream,” DeWine said. “It prioritizes our children, empowers our workforce, and strengthens our communities. We are investing in the people of Ohio, not just today, but for generations to come.”
“As Ohio continues to attract more jobs, it’s important that the state continues to invest in our workforce,” said Lt. Governor Jim Tressel. “The budget Governor DeWine signed today does just that and much, much more. It enhances support for career-technical education, job training, and apprenticeship programs tailored to Ohio’s industries. These investments will help all Ohioans live up to their God-given potential.”
